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PRESENTED TO THE 



MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL SOCIETY 



BENJAMIN R. WINTHROP, ESQ., 



OF NEW YORK. 




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PRESENTED TO THE 



MASSACHUSETTS HISTORICAL SOCIETY 



BY 

.V 
BENJAMIN R." WINTHROP, ESQ., 



OF NEW TOEK. 



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DESCRIPTION OF THE CHAIR. 



The material of the Chair is oak, elaborately and beautifully 
wrought. It is five feet nine inches in height, and twenty-nine inches 
in width in front. Above the scroll-work with which the back of the 
chair is ornamented, and in which are to be seen the initials " G. W.," 
is the bust of Washington, surrounded by a wreath of laurel. Upon 
medallions on either side are the arms of the State and City of New 
York, carved in relief. The back is surmounted by the American 
eagle, and the supports to the arms of the chair terminate in eagles' 
heads. The front of the chair is also adorned with an escutcheon, 
displaying the Arms of the United States. A plate attached to the 
Chair bears an appropriate inscription. 



THE 



WASHINGTON CHAIR. 



[From the " Proceedikgb of the Massachusetts Histoeical SociErT.''] 

At the Monthly Meeting of the Massachusetts His- 
torical Society, Nov. 13, 1856, the President commu- 
nicated the following letter : — 

New York, October 14, 1S56. 

My dear Sir, — I have this day forwarded to your address 
a chair intended as a gift to the Massachusetts Historical 
Society. Tlie inscription which it bears will inform you that 
it has been constructed of timber taken from the house in which 
Washington dwelt at the period of his inauguration as first 
President of the United States. 

You will excuse me for adding a few words to this brief 
legend. The house in question was a spacious family mansion, 
erected by Walter Franklin somewhere about the year 1750. 
It stood at the junction of Pearl and Cherry Streets, facing the 
open triangular space called by a customary New- York license 
Franklin Square. 

Names of universal philanthropy are always fitly applied to 
objects of public utility. Doubly appropriate is this association 
of Franklin's memory with a spot of ground over which fall 
the shadows of an edifice of gigantic proportions, of which the 
world can show no equal, dedicated to typographical art. 



At the time of the erection of the Franklin mansion, and for 
a generation or two afterwards, this portion of our city, now 
devoted to the busy pursuits of the merchant and the artisan, 
was principally occupied by the residences of wealthy and 
fashionable citizens. The situation was unsurpassed for beauty 
in that day. On commanding ground, with an open square in 
front, and the view of the East River and the distant hills 
of Nassau, unobstructed by the walls of brick and the forests of 
masts which now obscure the intervening space, it had all the 
charms of suburban scenery. 

It was here that the courtesy, dignity, and grace, which 
marked the official and private hospitality of our first President, 
won the affectionate regards of all who came within its sphere. 

Time and change have done their work on this hallowed 
spot. Where the mansion once stood now runs a broad ave- 
nue, open to the ever-rushing current of active life. Few who 
pass it in the eager pursuit of gain, or in the daily struggle for 
bread, will ever call to mind the history which lies buried 
beneath their feet. 

There is, to many of our citizens, an interest also, in which 
I feel you will participate, associated with the object of this 
change in our city map. The new street thus opened to the 
heart of the southern section of the city will hereafter form a 
continuation of the Bowery, so long known as the spacious 
avenue which extended through the eastern suburbs, and ter- 
minated at Chatham Row. The origin of the name given to 
this avenue is not so well known as it deserves to be. 

Governor Stuyvesant, whose many virtues and indomitable 
spirit so well illustrated the character of the old Dutch dy- 
nasty, held an estate of large dimensions, beautifully located 
on the shores of the East River, a few miles beyond tlio 
boundaries of the city of his day. In his fondness for this his 
favorite retreat, where he enjoyed relaxation from the cares of 
public life, he gave it the name of his " Bouerie." This name 
it Ijore during his lifetime, and for many years after his death. 



The country road which led from the Stuyvesant Mansion 
into the city came thus to be known as the " Bouerie Lane." 
Finally, in tlie progress of time, as the growing city disturbed 
the deep solitudes of the country, and the insatiate demands of 
commerce usui'ped the Stuyvesant domain, out of this quiet 
lane gi"ew the well-known Boweiy of our day, which now finds 
its termination at the spot where Washington, in civic glory, 
consummated a renown that is to live through all time. 

Passing accidentally the premises to which I have thus 
alluded, while they were in process of demolition, it was my 
good fortune to rescue the material which forms the relic I 
now place in your charge. 

If the Massachusetts Historical Society will consent to 
accord to this chair a place in their library, I shall regard 
their acquiescence as a favor to be gratefully remembered. 

I am, my dear sir, ever faithfully 

Your friend and cousin, 

B. R. WiNTHROP. 
Hon. Robert C. Wlnthrop, Boston, Mass. 

Voted, That the thanks of the Society be presented 
to Mr. Winthrop for this interesting and acceptable 
donation, and that the Corresponding Secretary stand 
charged with the acknowledgment thereof. 

Attest : 

JOSEPH WILLARD, 

RecnrtlinfS Sccretanj of the JilassackusetUt Historical Society. 



LETTER 



THE COREESPOXDEN'G SECEETARY. 



BosTOS. XoT. 17, lSo6. 
To B. R. Wi^THEOP, Esq. 

Dear Sib, — It has beeu made my agreeable duty to ac- 
knowledge the receipt of your interestmg letter addressed to 
the Hou. Egbert C. Wdvthrop, President of the Massachu- 
setts Historical Society, accompanying the gift of a chair 
'• constructed of timber taken from the house in which 
Washington dwelt at the period of his inauguration as first 
President of the United States." 

The letter was read to the Society at a stated meeting held 
at their rooms in Boston, on Thursday, the 13th of November 
instant ; the chair, at the time, being exhibited to the mem- 
bers, and attracting their attention by its beauty, and their 
interest as a memento of the man of whom it has been said 
by one of the foremost of American statesmen, that, " if our 
American institutions had done notliiug else but furnish to 
the world the character of Washington, that alone would have 
entitled them to the respect of mankind." 

After the reading of your letter, the following vote was 
unanimously passed : ■• That the thanks of the Society be 
given to ilr. Wintlirop for his interesting and acceptable 
gift." 



As the honored organ of our Society to communicate to you 
the above vote, I beg leave to add, that you could not have 
selected, as the favored recipient of your precious gift, any 
body of men among vrhom would be found a profounder vene- 
ration (than the Massachusetts Historical Society feels) for 
the memory of him who has given his name to a period, and 
his example to a world. 

I have the honor to be, dear sii-, 

Yery respectfiilly your obedient servant, 

Wm. p. Lunt, 

Corresponding Secretary Mass. Historical Societp. 



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